Teachable Moments

Don't you love those teachable moments that you have as parents when you have the opportunity to share something that you believe in with your child? I often times feel like I miss teachable moments, because I am too focused on other aspects of my life or day. The other night, Chris was such a good example to me of taking advantage of a good moment to teach Sofia.
Sofia was for some reason really scared to go to sleep and crying, because we were leaving the room after laying by her for awhile. She usually goes to bed really easily. so we were concerned with how scared she was. Then Chris calmly told Sofia,"You know Sofia, if you are scared, you can pray to Heavenly Father any time to feel safe, and he will help you." She perked up a bit and said, "I can pray whenever I want, and he will help me?" We said a prayer together as a family, and she immediately went to sleep.
The next morning (bright and early I might ad), Sofia came and laid by me, and the first thing that she said was,"Mommy, last night I prayed to Heavenly Father a hundred hundred hundred times. I responded,"Did it help?" She cheerfully responded,"Yep."
This sounds like such a simple incident, and it was, but it made me feel so good that she knows how loved she is by Heavenly Father. I couldn't help but think afterward, that although I 100% know that Heavenly Father is there for Sofia any time she prays, I sometimes don't know if I believe that for myself. At times when I need his help the most, I withdraw from His help and love. I need to start calling upon His love and share my appreciation more, because He really does love each of us and wants nothing but the best for us. There is so much for me to learn from this whole parenting gig, and so far it seems like the majority of the time, my kids are the teachers, and I am the student.

What's your laugh like?

Don't you just love those people who laugh so easily and naturally? They make you feel so funny, even when you are pretty sure, that you aren't being comical? It's good for the ego either way :). Or how about those people who have those full on belly laughs. Their laughs are so contagious that you are just happy to be around them. Then there is me... the silent laugher. Chris and I were talking the other day about how I don't really laugh out loud all that often. Don't get me wrong, I think that things are funny quite often, but although many times my heart is laughing, I just can't get the sound out. Why does this matter, you may wonder? Well, it really doesn't... except for the fact that I feel bad when people are being sincerely funny, and they may not think that I think they are funny, because I have a wussy laugh. There of course are times, when people really aren't funny to me (I have a strange sense of humor)... in which case.... it would be convenient if I could do some sort of fake chuckle just to be polite... but I just can't (literally). Is there anything I can do to make my laugh known more so that people really are aware when I think that something is funny? I do smile a lot, however, so if I smile at you a lot, consider it as good as a laugh.
So, I ask you all... what kind of laugh to you have? Do you laugh easily? Were you that flirty girl in college who laughed at everything and made guys fall in love with you, because their egos were soaring around you? Do you laugh easily? What kind of humor do you have? What can really get you laughing. Here are a few things that get me laughing (perhaps loud enough to hear):
-My kids. If anyone can get me to laugh heartily, it would be these munchkins.
-Chris when he dances or is in a cute teasing mood.
-A good episode of Ellen.
-Often times when a friend recounts a funny story.
-Occasionally my own jokes get me laughing pretty hard (no one else usually is laughing as hard as I am, however).
I know, this is a random post... but these are the random things that I think of.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

Doesn't this little guy just melt your heart? We celebrated his 2nd birthday a few days early with family, and besides Sofia's hair catching on fire (see video on Chris' blog), it was a great day. Here are some things about Gabe that melt my heart right now:
-Before naps or bedtime when he wants me to lay by him, he says, "I lay by you mama." Or if he wants us to carry him he says,"I carry you mama" in his sweetest little voice,
-Speaking of voices, boyfriend can sing. When Gabe is trying, he can sing in tune, and he loves loves to sing. Do I foresee a boy band like the legacy his father left :)?
-He mimics everything people say, especially Sofia.
-He says the cutest prayers before dinner.
-He loves to yell out,"Family Hug," and we all run to each other and hug. So sweet.
-Before bath time, he is loving to do a little pee pee on the toilet every day. Even if he lets out one drop, he jumps off the toilet and yells,"We did it, we did it, we did it hooray!!" and does a little victory dance.
-He loves books. No matter where he is, he usually finds the pile of books and plants himself to read on the ground for a long time.
-His boundless energy is exhausting, but he has such a zest for life, you just can't help but fall in love with this little guy.
I got all teary eyed looking at his baby pictures the other day. This child brings such joy to our lives, and we love him so much!
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A few Virginia Pictures

Of course my camera was still broken when I was in Virginia, so here are a few pics that Kim sent me!

Isn't this the life? This was the property of Kim's friends that we went to. It was so beautiful!!

Sofia could not wait for her swimming suit to jump in the water. Oh well. Isn't childhood great?

Family Picture Special

Chris is running a family photo special for the month of October. Check his blog for more details. The weather is supposed to be great this week, so book him now!

Your Baby Can Read (but shouldn't)

Am I the only one who keeps hearing ads on the radio and tv for programs that will help teach your baby (yes, I repeat BABY) how to read? I've also had a couple of moms in my baby classes in the last year ask me my opinion on these programs. Although I usually feel like I am pretty good at giving a semi-unbiased answer to moms when they ask me questions..... I just can't on this one. I STRONGlY disagree with teaching an infant how to read with these crazy canned flash cards (or videos). However, I believe that most parents who use these programs are really good parents who are just being lead astray by misleading advertising and societal pressures. Even if these programs can teach a baby to read off words on a flash card, they have absolutely no context to help this to be beneficial. There is no good research to show that these programs would have any long term benefit on infants/toddlers, and in fact, most good research would tell you to avoid these programs like the plague (well, maybe not like the plague... but maybe like you would avoid having stomach issues in a foreign country). The fact that we try to teach tiny infants to read... is so telling of how many parents today are pushing their kids to achieve earlier and earlier. I know that as a parent, it is worrisome to think that maybe your kids are going to be behind or not be given the right experiences that they need to thrive. I remember when Sofia was a toddler, there was a mom who proudly told me that her 22 month old daughter could say 454 (or something like that) words. She wondered how many words Sofia could say, and I had no idea. I hadn't realized that it would be necessary to keep track so that we could all compare... but I knew that it wasn't 400 something.
It is always comforting to me (and should be to all of you great parents out there), that research tells us that the many of the things we do intuitively as parents are the best things that we can do. Reading to our kids a lot, singing with them, playing with them, giving them opportunities to explore and learn, hugging and snuggling them etc....... I am no where close to being a perfect parent, and in fact, most days I feel like I feel short in many ways, but I am just chipping away at my imperfections (does anyone else remember Bro. Rookhouzen saying that all of the time in Sunday School). Babies are for snuggling and loving on, not for drilling with flashcards. If anyone is ever interested, I love BAM radio. Rae Pica (a leading expert in childhood health and movement) interviews different leaders in the field every week about different parenting topics. Scroll through and listen to the interviews that look interesting, but I have loved having the information from these 10 minute interviews as I don't have as much time to read as I would like.
http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=66&limitstart=70
Thanks for letting me vent on this topic. I feel better now :).

Sweetness

Sofia to Gabe right after he woke up from his nap: "Oh little boy, it's okay. I know, you need a big sister to take care of you. I can take care of you little boy." Pure sweetness.